11 Endowed Faculty to be Honored at Investiture Ceremony October 25

Eleven endowed Stony Brook University faculty members will be formally installed on Friday, October 25 at a ceremony held at the Charles B. Wang Center Theater.

The ceremony, part of Homecoming Weekend, will recognize endowed faculty who represent academic and research excellence. "This program also pays tribute to our extraordinary donors whose generosity supports these eminent scholars and enables Stony Brook to continually advance its rich, groundbreaking intellectual community," said Interim President Richard McCormick in his email message to the SBU community announcing the ceremony.

The following faculty members to be invested are:

• Ivet Bahar, PhD - Louis and Beatrice Laufer Endowed Director of the Laufer Center for Physical and Quantitative Biology and Chair in Physical and Quantitative Biology
• Michael Bender, PhD - John L. Hennessy Endowed Professor in Computer Science
• Lina Carlini, PhD - Laufer Family Endowed Professor of Physical and Quantitative Biology
• Manisha Desai, PhD - Empowerment Charitable Trust (ECT) Endowed Professor in Global Citizenship
• Ken A. Dill, PhD - Laufer Family Endowed Chair of Physical and Quantitative Biology
• Stephanie Dinkins, MFA - Yayoi Kusama Endowed Professor of Art
• Petar Djuric, PhD - Savitri Devi Bangaru Term Professor in Artificial Intelligence
• Christopher J. Gobler, PhD - Endowed Chair of Coastal Ecology and Conservation
• Kenneth Gow, MD - Knapp Swezey Endowed Chair in Pediatric Surgery
• Carlos Simmerling, PhD - Marsha Laufer Endowed Professor of Physical and Quantitative Biology
• Sthaneshwar Timalsina, PhD - Nirmal K. and Augustina Mattoo Endowed Chair in Classical Indic Humanities

The keynote address will be given by Esther S. Takeuchi, PhD, the William and Jane Knapp Endowed Chair in Energy and the Environment and a SUNY Distinguished Professor. Takeuchi's innovative research, focused on battery chemistry and technology, aims to develop reliable, high-powered and environmentally friendly energy storage.

An endowed position is among the highest career distinctions bestowed upon university faculty and serves as a lasting tribute to the generous philanthropists who established them.

The ceremony will be followed by a reception; all are welcome to attend. Register online here by October 18.